


Bad People Who Deserve Good Things

by favefangirl



Series: Tumblr Prompt Fills [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Death, Finding each other again, Ghosts, Goodbyes, Love, M/M, Post-Season/Series 02, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Tumblr Prompt, Villains, halemore, ignores series 3 to 6, mostly - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-26
Updated: 2017-10-26
Packaged: 2019-01-23 13:18:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12508316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/favefangirl/pseuds/favefangirl
Summary: The last time they met Jackson was the terrified little boy hiding behind muscles and sneers, pretending that nothing in the world scared him when he was most frightened of all. It was a strange turn of events that now it was Derek who was desperately trying to cling to answers he could not find on his own, looking to Jackson for some semblance of guidance. It was a roll reversal neither had seen coming.





	Bad People Who Deserve Good Things

**Author's Note:**

> Requested by donttagoratme on Tumblr from [this post](http://the-modern-typewriter.tumblr.com/post/166702630863/do-you-ever-see-them-the-protagonist-asked-i)

The rain poured outside in a misty sheet of water and cacophonous noise. Inside was warm and dry, lit by flickering candles which painted shadows across and up the walls. Every time Derek moved the freshly healed skin of his abdomen pulled tightly and he winced. He wasn't entirely sure where he was but had a feeling he was a long way from home. He was road-weary, adrenaline high and full of dread.

He'd not been expecting so many obstacles on his journey and this unpreparedness nearly cost him his life after a painful battle against a rogue Alpha who thought Derek was going to make an attempt at his territory. He didn't remember much after that, his vision was blurred as his body fought to heal itself, but somewhere in his consciousness was the feeling of strong arms carrying him to safety, cleaning his wounds, taking away some of the pain, all under the shroud of a long-forgotten scent.

The door to the room creaked open and a face, familiar and yet not familiar at the same time, peered in. Apparently seeing that Derek was awake, the door opened wider and a body joined the head. There, in the flesh, was the very person Derek had set out to find all those long and tiresome weeks ago - Jackson Whittemore. He didn't look older, simply more mature. His eyes spoke of age his body had not experienced, and a sadness Derek knew it had.

"You're awake," Jackson stated as though that hadn't already been established. "For a while there I was sure you were dead.

Derek threw the covers off his legs and swung himself around so he sat on the edge of the bed, bare feet resting on the cool wooden floor, naked chest no longer hidden by the thin sheets. If Jackson happened to stare a little too long before flicking his eyes away, neither of them mentioned it. It wasn't the time for that, for reminiscing about the way things were before the whole world turned upside down, when things were easy.

"Sorry to disappoint," Derek said, the age old reply.

Jackson huffed out a one-syllable laugh, half-hearted at best - it wasn't the time for laughing either. "It's been a while."

Derek, torn between saying "too long" and "not long enough" remained silent, staring at the man in front of him who he last knew as merely a boy. A while is such a long time, and so very much can happen in a while. Jackson was looking at him the way he always had - fear and lust and love and hate all rolled up into one. Their relationship had always been so complex, sometimes Derek thought his head might explode!

"Why are you here, Derek?" Jackson finally asked when it became apparent that Derek was not going to speak first.

"Do you ever see them?" He asked. "I do. All the time. I'll see them on a street corner in a crowd, on a bus pulling away, or hear someone that sounds like them. The whole world's turned into ghosts."

Jackson stayed silent for a long moment. "Yes."

Derek stared at his hands. "How do you bear it?" He kept his voice casual.

The last time they met Jackson was the terrified little boy hiding behind muscles and sneers, pretending that nothing in the world scared him when he was most frightened of all. It was a strange turn of events that now it was Derek who was desperately trying to cling to answers he could not find on his own, looking to Jackson for some semblance of guidance. It was a roll reversal neither had seen coming.

"I don't." Jackson kept his voice even. "That's why I'm here." _So I don't hurt anyone else..._

Their eyes met. Derek searched Jackson's face, desperately. "I see you, too," he confessed. "I'll drive by the school during lacrosse practise and think I catch a glance of you, or I'll be walking down the street and swear I see your Porsche parked by the side of the road."

"I guess we all become ghosts eventually." Jackson's tone is ice cold, but there's a flicker of warmth in his eyes.

"I miss you," Derek confessed, voice quiet. "You're standing right there and I fucking miss you." It's the most honest he's ever been.

"Sometimes," Jackson replied, even quieter, "I miss me too."

Derek opens his mouth to speak, to say he's here because nothing ever made as much sense as him and Jackson together, that a life without Jackson was barely a life at all. But Jackson was already disappearing back through the door, throwing a gruff, "Get dressed and go, Hale," over his shoulder as he went.

Derek stared at the space where Jackson was a few seconds ago. Jackson was the worst ghost of all, constantly slipping through Derek's fingers, haunting him every waking moment and then again when he slept at night, always disappearing just as Derek turned his head to look at him. Well not this time. Jackson was the ache in his chest, was the pain in his heart, was the catch in his breath whenever things got too much. There were so many others he couldn't bring back, but Jackson wasn't entirely lost quite yet.

Derek would not abandon him ever, ever again.

**Author's Note:**

> This is maybe a little cheesy, but who doesn't love a good bit of cheese.
> 
> At the minute I have no real intentions of developing this into anything more, although I do think it's a story I could do a lot with, as all I really wrote it to be was a quick one-shot.
> 
> Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated if you're feeling especially generous.
> 
> I know Halemore isn't the most popular ship but it is a good ship all the same so I hope I did it justice?
> 
> If you want to message me my Instagram is @Favefangirl and my Tumblr is [nebulous--bounds](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/nebulous--bounds) I'm more than happy to answer any questions, maybe fill any prompts or just generally converse with you lovely people. Be sure to follow me, too, if you want! I'm mostly multi-fan and I blog a lot about writing (especially on Tumblr). You can also follow me on Pinterest [here](https://www.pinterest.co.uk/Favefangirl/).
> 
>  **Prompts?**  
>  So, I have severe writers block at the minute and so in order to try and stimulate my writing juices (that is a weird sentence, I apologise) I’m opening myself up to prompts and requests for writing. I don’t really write smut, but I can try should the prompt inspire me. Also, I will try to write Supernatural but I mostly know what happened in season one and whatever is fanon so perhaps don’t suggest those unless there’s a really good prompt you think of. I’m looking for shorter stuff, one-shots only. Some may inspire a multi-chap fic, but that’s not really what I’m hoping for right now. If there’s a certain ship or fandom you’re interested in just ask and I’ll see what I can do. If you're interested please message me on one of the social media listed above, it is muchly appreciated!
> 
> Alright everybody, have a wonderful existence!


End file.
